Flybe overtakes rivals to become Cardiff’s busiest airline

7th Jul 2009

Flybe, Europe’s largest regional airline and now the UK’s number one domestic airline, has announced it is also now the largest carrier at Cardiff Airport in terms of weekly aircraft movement, with more Flybe flights departing and arriving at the airport than any other airline or tour operator. Flybe started operating to and from Cardiff two years ago and has since overtaken all other carriers to be the busiest airline at the airport in terms of aircraft movements, with 122 movements per week - ten more than previous frontrunner bmibaby.

The airline now operates seven routes from the airport including Belfast City, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Jersey, Newcastle, Paris and the recently launched Aberdeen service operated by its franchise partner, Loganair.

Flybe recently announced that, following the publication of the CAA April/May statistics, it is now confirmed as the UKs number one domestic airline, carrying more passengers in the UK domestic marketplace than any other airline. Flybe also has more domestic flights than any other carrier at Cardiff Airport, with more than twice the number of domestic movements per week compared to nearest rival bmibaby.

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Spencer Birns, Cardiff Airport’s head of air service development says: “We’re pleased to see Flybe’s consistent growth at Cardiff, offering Welsh passengers a wide range of routes and frequent flights to sought after destinations in the UK and Europe.

“We hope travellers in South Wales will continue to use the services offered by Flybe in order to demonstrate the demand for routes from Cardiff to domestic and other short haul destinations. An increase in passenger numbers would encourage the airline to continue to grow its route network from Cardiff.”

Mike Rutter, Flybe’s Chief Commercial Officer adds: “When Flybe first entered the Welsh market in March 2008 with four new routes, we committed to becoming the biggest airline at Cardiff in three years - and we have done this in just over 12 months!!

“This phenomenal success not only reflects the strength and success of our business model but also the fact that, in bucking the spiralling downturn of aviation trends, we have continued to add routes.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank our increasing number of loyal passengers from Wales in helping us achieve this key milestone. Travellers from Cardiff can be assured that, by choosing to fly with Flybe, they are now not only travelling with the largest regional airline in Europe but also, as the UK’s number one domestic airline, Cardiff’s busiest!” ——-